The UNO School of Communication DebateWatch2016event on September 26th was a success and well attended by over 200 people.

The next DebateWatch2016 event will be the Vice Presidential debate tonight, October 4th, at the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center, room 230/231, from 8:00-9:30 p.m., with orientation at 7:30 p.m.

The last DebateWatch2016 event will be on October 16th for the Presidential debate at the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center, room 230/231, from 8:00-9:30 pm with orientation at 7:30 p.m..

What is DebateWatch? A national project supported by the Commission on Presidential Debates and the National Communication Association. It is designed to bring groups around the country together to view the campaign debates.

How does it work? Participants will watch the presidential debates as a group. A common hashtag (#UNODW16) will be available to comment on Twitter during the debates.

When are the debates? The first presidential debate is Monday, Sept. 26, at the MBSC Ballroom. The vice presidential debate is Tuesday, Oct. 4 and the third presidential debate, Wednesday, Oct. 19, are both at the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center, Room 230/231. The time for all three debates is 8 to 9:30 p.m. with orientation at 7:30 p.m.

What should I do if I want to give extra-credit to students? In order to facilitate this potentially large event, we ask instructors to attend the event with their students.
How long will the DebateWatch event last? Orientation begins at 7:30 p.m. The debates begin at 8 p.m. and are 90 minutes in length. The Twitter site will be open for discussion after each debate concludes.

Do students need to register in advance? No. However it will be helpful for us to know if you plan to give extra-credit to students attending and how many students might be participating. This will help us plan for adequate refreshments. Contact bpickering@unomaha.edu or 402.554.2204

Dr. Barbara Pickering

Can local citizens participate in this event? Yes. Members of the community are welcome to participate!

Can I bring campaign materials/banners/posters to show my support for a candidate? No. This is intended to be a non-partisan event. Participants are asked to be respectful of audience members, therefore no campaign banners etc. are allowed.

Do I have to attend in person? No. If you are not able to attend, or choose to view the debates in a smaller group we encourage you to organize satellite events in your home or other venues throughout the community. You may follow us on Twitter at #UNODW16.

Alumna Wins Award

UNO Broadcasting/New Media major and TV Crew alumna Stephanie Hearn Purcell has been out in L.A. working in production for the last six months. Her documentary, To Love & Support: The American Military Spouse, which she completed last year here in Nebraska, has just been recognized by the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards with an award for both Feature and Producer.

Tony Moton was a mainstay on the 1990s Omaha scene as the entertainment columnist for the Omaha World-Herald. He returned to Omaha in August to stage a reading of his award-winning screenplay, All Bets Are On. The reading was the first event in the Omaha Community Playhouse’s free Alternative Programming series. The script won the prestigious Samuel Goldwyn prize and helped Moton enter film school at UCLA, where he received his master’s degree in screenwriting in 2005. The staged reading is part of Moton’s push to get the script made into a film, which he hopes to shoot in Omaha.

During his August visit to Omaha, Moton came to UNO to talk to the School of Communication’s Capstone Creative Media students. Moton has worked as a sports and entertainment columnist, an investigative journalist and continues to work as a writer in L.A. since receiving his degree from UCLA.

Moton spoke to the students about some mechanics of writing, the need for discipline in creative work and his philosophical approaches to the craft of writing. He also talked to students about the importance of finding your stylistic writing voice and creating from the heart in order to impact your audience and have your work ring true. He shared some anecdotes from his career and the real-world need for making the most of opportunities and networking. Moton touched on the need for building a professional name for yourself or creating a brand for your work and being prepared to work in many disciplines while pursuing your passion.

The Capstone Creative Media courses are team-taught by Jodeane Brownlee and B.J. Huchtemann. Moton’s appearance was organized by Capstone Creative Media co-instructor B.J. Huchtemann. Huchtemann was an entertainment scene colleague of Moton’s in the 1990s, when Moton wrote for the Omaha World-Herald and she began writing about the local music scene for The Reader.

More information on Moton and his campaign to put funding together to return to Omaha to make his film can be found at gofundme.com/allbetsmovie.

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UNO Social Media Lab hosts Professor

The UNO Social Media Lab is pleased to have hosted Professor Betty Farmer, Western Carolina University, for an inspiring talk on Tuesday, September 13, 1 p.m. at the CEC.

Professor Farmer’s students partner with a nearby community, Dillsboro, NC, in an innovative and nationally recognized engagement project that has spread across other areas of her campus:

Following Professor Farmer’s talk and questions about her engaged teaching and research, she participated in a panel featuring the Service Learning Academy and others doing innovative work across our state.

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UNO Advertising Club

Leadership and other opportunities were presented by Teri Hamburger of the American Advertising Federation Omaha at the Ad Club event Sept. 7.

DebateWatch 2016- #UNODW16

What is DebateWatch? A national project supported by the Commission on Presidential Debates and the National Communication Association. It is designed to bring groups around the country together to view the campaign debates.

How does it work? Participants will watch the presidential debates as a group. A common hashtag (#UNODW16) will be available to comment on Twitter during the debates.

When are the debates? The first presidential debate is Monday, Sept. 26, at the MBSC Ballroom. The vice presidential debate is Tuesday, Oct. 4 and the third presidential debate, Wednesday, Oct. 19, are both at the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center, Room 230/231. The time for all three debates is 8 to 9:30 p.m. with orientation at 7:30 p.m.

What should I do if I want to give extra-credit to students? In order to facilitate this potentially large event, we ask instructors to attend the event with their students.
How long will the DebateWatch event last? Orientation begins at 7:30 p.m. The debates begin at 8 p.m. and are 90 minutes in length. The Twitter site will be open for discussion after each debate concludes.

Do students need to register in advance? No. However it will be helpful for us to know if you plan to give extra-credit to students attending and how many students might be participating. This will help us plan for adequate refreshments. Contact bpickering@unomaha.edu or 402.554.2204

Can local citizens participate in this event? Yes. Members of the community are welcome to participate!

Can I bring campaign materials/banners/posters to show my support for a candidate? No. This is intended to be a non-partisan event. Participants are asked to be respectful of audience members, therefore no campaign banners etc. are allowed.

Do I have to attend in person? No. If you are not able to attend, or choose to view the debates in a smaller group we encourage you to organize satellite events in your home or other venues throughout the community. You may follow us on Twitter at #UNODW16.

Contact: Barbara Pickering, bpickering@unomaha.edu, 402.554.2204

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UNO PRSSA La Notte Italiana fundraiser features an Italian feast

Since 2004, UNO PRSSA’s La Notte Italiana fundraiser dinner has offered its guests a banquet of delicious Italian fare from local restaurants and Italian-American families.

The chapter invites everyone, including the School of Communication- faculty, students and staff, to join in the festivities. This year’s benefit dinner and silent auction takes place on Friday, Oct. 14, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Security National Bank Community Room, 101th and Pacific Streets.

Among the local restaurants that have donated in the past are Bella Vita, Pasta Amore and Orsi’s Italian Bakery and Pizzeria.

The auction features baskets from sports to spa packages to “date night,” “family fun day” and “dine around the world.”

The fundraiser helps to pay for the chapter’s participation in national and regional conference travel as well as community service projects. UNO PRSSA will conduct a clothing, food and toy drive for the local nonprofit, Completely Kids, during the months of November and December. The chapter will also hold its annual Santa Paws fundraiser for Hearts United for Animals on Dec. 4 at The Bookworm.

Tickets cost $25 for adults; $15 for students with ID and $5 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be reserved by contacting Bryonna Johnson, PRSSA president and event coordinator at bryonnajohnson@unomaha.edu or purchased at the door. Donations can be mailed in care of Karen Weber, UNO PRSSA Faculty Adviser, ASH 140, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge St., Omaha, NE 68182-0112.

For the fourth time in the last six years, the MavForensics team capped off their season with a top 5 finish. Despite having one of the smaller teams in the top 20, consisting this year of 11 underclassmen and only 3 upper classmen (with just one senior), the team completed their season by taking home the 5th place trophy in back-to-back years. Three other teams from Nebraska were in the top 20, with Doane College placing 16th, Hastings College placing 15th, and University of Nebraska Lincoln placing 9th. That marks the most schools in the top 20 from any one state in the nation and makes the MavForensics’ state championship back in February that much more meaningful.

Abby Herbert, Catie Zaleski & Abby Hoffman

The team was led by senior Catie Zaleski, who finished ranked the sixth overall speaker in the entire nation. Catie and duo partner, Freshman Abby Hoffman, placed third overall at the tournament in Duo Interpretation. Catie also placed third in Dramatic Interpretation, with junior Abbie Herbert taking home second in the same event and placing in quarterfinals in After Dinner Speaking. Catie also advanced her Program of Oral Interpretation to semifinals (top 12 in the nation) and her Poetry Interpretation to quarterfinals (top 24 in the nation). Abby took her Prose Interpretation to semifinals and her Dramatic Interpretation to quarterfinals. Sophomore Dominic Hernandez made semifinals in both Prose Interpretation and Program of Oral Interpretation and quarterfinals in Poetry Interpretation. Sophomore T’eyrr Bynum made quarterfinals in both Dramatic Interpretation and Poetry Interpretation. Freshman Ameres Groves made quarterfinals in Program of Oral Interpretation.

In addition to the competitive success, Catie also became only the fourth “All-American” in MavForensics’ history. All-Americans are awarded based on three criteria: Competitive success, academic excellence, and service to the community. The selection is made by a national committee, who found Catie’s application among the best in the nation, awarding her a slot on the coveted team.

Cameron Logsdon

Even the coaches were recognized, with Assistant Director of Forensics Cameron Logsdon winning the “Outstanding New Coach Award,” presented to a recipient for excellence in their first five years of coaching. Director of Forensics Abbie Syrek previously won the same award back in 2011. Only two schools in the country have had two coaches who received this prestigious award, Kansas State University and now the University of Nebraska Omaha.

All told, it was one of the most successful years in the program’s 10-year tenure under Syrek. Complete results are detailed below:

Bruce E. Johansen, Isaacson Professor in Communication at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, recently returned home from India after he was received as one of a dozen special guests from the United States, Canada, and Australia at a conference on the history and literature of indigenous peoples and dalits (untouchables). The conference convened December 14-16 at Acharya Nagarjuna University in Gunter, Andhra Pradesh state, India, about 250 miles north of Chennai (formerly known as Madras) on the Bay of Bengal.

The university is named after Acharya Nagarjuna, the principal founder of the Madhyamaka path of Mahayana Buddhism. Acharya Nagarjuna University is known for its endorsement of human-rights activism, especially for indigenous and dalit peoples at the bottom of India’s caste system. The conference had the attributes of a cultural festival and a political rally as well as an academic meeting. The campaign for improvement of dalit status (they comprise one-sixth of India’s 1.2 billion people) has similarities to the United States’ civil-rights struggle.

Johansen presented brief opening remarks at opening ceremonies December 14, attended by roughly 600 people. He also presented a plenary paper, “What Has Been Will Be: Native American Contributions to Democracy, Feminism, Gender Fluidity, and Environmentalism,” December 16. The conference, including a brief description of Johansen’s paper, was reported in The Hindu, a nation-wide newspaper, December 16 and 17.

The conference, which was attended by several hundred scholars from several nations, with 250 presented papers, was widely covered in the press, in Hindi as well as English. The special guests were accorded celebrity status, and asked for several hundred selfies and “snaps” (photos). Johansen’s paper also was published in an Indian journal, The Cultural and Literary Nationalism of Fourth World.

Johansen, who has heretofore maintained that he has two left feet and dances like a duck, was asked to “grace the base” (e.g. come to the stage) with other special guests, during a performance Monday evening by Kaladashini, an AGU dance troupe. He was then engaged in a solo by one of the principal dancers. He followed the dancer’s moves at an accelerating pace, then began to lead. At the end of the performance, Johansen’s dancing partner hoisted him into the air, and kissed him on the cheek, as the performers and an audience of several hundred cheered. Next, Raja Sekhar, lead coordinator of the conference (an English professor and administrative officer at AGU), hoisted him into the air, to grand applause.

Aside from aiding in discovery of his formerly dormant dancing talents, Johansen welcomed the opportunity to eat curry and chutney for breakfast (and all other meals).

Johansen also was collecting research for publication on air pollution in Delhi, which, according to the World Health Organization, is the worst in the world. While he was there, the Delhi airport closed briefly for smog, and the city’s Supreme Court outlawed the registration of large SUVs and cars with large diesel engines, maintaining that living in Delhi is like living “in an open gas chamber.”

At 27, Omaha native Kris Krug is pursuing his second bachelor’s degree at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Few people know, however, that he has more than five years of public address announcing, including lap-by-lap race car coverage and driver interviews.

His experience includes calling major events such as Knoxville Nationals, Knoxville Late Model Nationals and Knoxville 360 Nationals. He says he prides himself on his outstanding knowledge of dirt-track racing and its “storied” history.

He has also been working for E.W. Scripps Co. in Omaha since June as a promotions assistant, which includes on-site high school football game reporting.

Scripps stations include channel 94.1, Star 104.5, CD 105.9, Z-92 and AM 590 ESPN Omaha. Krug’s primary station is ESPN. Anytime the local show “The Drive” is broadcast, Krug says that he is almost always the on-site producer for it.

He also gets a little on-air time co-hosting the Sunday morning motorsports show.

“Dan Taylor, the announcer of I-80 speedway here in Nebraska, brought me on and loves to have me as a guest when I have time,” Krug says.

In the fall, Krug was the on-air reporter for the Friday night high school football show “High School Game Night.”

“I would go out to the game and sit in the press box to take notes while our show was on air, and then I would call in after each quarter was done to give an update on what’s going on.”

Krug says he was proud of this part of the job because the idea of having him cover the weekly game was his.

While Krug says he has had some early broadcasting successes, his resume can’t convey his sense of determination, his passion for the industry or his “undying initiative.”

A big sports fan when he was a boy, he wanted to be a Nebraska Cornhusker. Sometimes moms know best, though.

“My mom knew from the age of 10 that I would be a sports announcer,” Krug says. “I was always calling.”

“I found out I wasn’t big enough to play football, but I knew I wanted to be part of it,” he says. “There’s no better way to do it than to tell people what’s going on with the game.”

After attending Plattsmouth High School, he was off to the University of Nebraska Kearney to pursue a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting and a minor in sports administration. He became the voice of the UNK KPLR radio station and was also sports director in 2010 and 2011.

At the time, KPLR didn’t have a sideline reporter. He created the Coach Darryl Morris pre-game show. He says he talked football for 20 minutes, welcomed fans, plugged in public service announcements and talked about the opponent.

Everything was broken down “to a tee,” he says. “I took time to study not only football, but also how things work for broadcast.”

He says that working for a campus radio station is a learning process.

“You’re going to make mistakes,” Krug says. “The whole point of having a campus radio station is to make those mistakes and then correct them.

“You have fun with it, and once you get used to it, you don’t make those mistakes anymore.”

Krug’s early success continued. As a part of a national exchange program through UNK, he was able to attend the University of Tennessee in Knoxville his senior year. It was an opportunity for him to meet people and make contacts. He was very much into NASCAR.

“I wanted to be in motor sports somehow. I just needed a start,” Krug says.

Left to Right: John Gibson, the voice of the World of Outlaws,
Tony Bokhoven of CBS Sports, Australian race announcer Wade Aunger,
and Kris Krug.

His persistence paid off. In April 2012, he became the public address announcer for Smokey Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tennessee, providing lap-by-lap coverage until September 2012. He was also featured on DirtOnDirt.com providing lap-by-lap coverage.

While in Tennessee, his mother called and told him about an opening for a sales position at KNIA/KRLS in Knoxville, Iowa.

“I drove from Knoxville [Tennessee] to Knoxville [Iowa].”

But, after determining the sales job wasn’t a fit, he drove home. Two days later, he got an offer from the station to do announcing after the on-air overnight person quit.

Krug was off to Iowa for a two-year stint at KNIA/KRLS, and with that came in-field sports racetrack coverage for Knoxville Raceway.

Left to Right: Tony Bokhoven of CBS Sports,the lead announcer at Knoxville Raceway,
James Essex, the voice of the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series, Kris Krug.

Krug says he leveraged his relationships at the track to secure the booth announcing for the raceway. He would work at the radio station during the week, and on the weekends, he would announce as an employee for the racetrack.

Krug says, “This is a huge prestigious job and a dream come true.”

After two years at KNIA-KRLS, long hours and unfulfilling pay, Krug says he realized that he needed to do more to educate himself.

“I made a call to my parents, and they supported my decision. Knoxville is only 2.5 hours away from Omaha. I’m going to get another degree,” he says.

Krug says he made the decision to go back to school after facing the “harsh reality” about the need to be diverse in his skills.

Krug has finished his first semester at UNO with a major in journalism and media communication and an emphasis in advertising and public relations. He has two more years before he graduates.

Krug says the loved his time at UNK, but he was so headstrong about broadcasting that he “didn’t care” about the other courses. “I was going to be a sportscaster,” he says.

“Broadcasting is one thing, writing scripts or announcing,” Krug says. “With PR, you are doing a lot of different things like press releases and design pieces.”

His motivation is to get the diverse skills he needs and to learn public relations inside and out.

“If I had done that at Kearney, I would have been more well-rounded,” he says.

The new “dream job” for Krug looks like a combination of announcing and public relations.

Krug says that while school has been easy for him in the past, he is enjoying the challenge at UNO and the great professors. He enjoys meeting new people, whom he studies and “stays focused” with. They will be lifelong friends.

For now, Krug is focused on broadening his knowledge and skills at UNO. And, he still is driving back and forth to Knoxville Raceway to do announcing on weekends and during the summer.

He continues to apply for positions that could prove to be his next “dream job.”

Student PR Chapter Named Best In Nation
by Charley Reed

OMAHA – For the third time in the last seven years, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has been named the nation’s top chapter following this year’s national conference.

UNO’s PRSSA chapter, MavPRSSA, was named best out of all 344 chapters on Monday at the final day of the conference, which was held in Atlanta.

This is the third year MavPRSSA has won the F.H. Teahan Outstanding Chapter Award with previous victories in 2012 and 2009. The prize for winning outstanding chapter is $500 towards student advancement.

“These students represent the best of the best for UNO’s School of Communication,” explained Karen Weber, the chapter’s faculty advisor. “They have worked tirelessly to make sure they achieve and excel in their professional development.”

In addition to being named Outstanding Chapter, MavPRSSA also received recognition as a Star Chapter for the fourth year in a row as one of

Trent Ostrom

only 20 chapters to receive the honor, which rewards students’ efforts in professional development and community service.

Angela Eastep

UNO seniors Angela Eastep and Trent Ostrom also received individual recognition at this year’s conference. Eastep, the chapter’s president, earned the PRSSA National Golden Key Award for excellence in their professional and academic endeavors. Ostrom, the chapter’s recruitment director, earned the Ron Culp National Mentor Scholarship worth $1,000 towards finishing his schooling.

Running and Winning: League of Women Voters Workshop

Every other year, the League of Women Voters, Instructor Rita Shaughnessy’s students from Honors Public Speaking Fundamentals, and Service Learning all partner to hold a workshop at the Alumni Center. The workshop is called Running and Winning.

Omaha area high school girls are chosen by their teachers and come to the all-morning workshop to interview past and present female elected officials. The girls then craft their own political campaign slogan, poster, and speech which they present. Deborah Smith-Howell, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dean of Graduate Studies, welcomed everyone to the workshop and judged the speeches, along with two other representatives from the Omaha community.

Shaughnessy’s students facilitated at each table and helped with myriad other things that needed attending to during the workshop, including helping the high school girls with their presentations.

After the workshop is over at 1 p.m., the girls then went on a campus tour before returning to their respective high schools.

UNO student Waverle Monroe once participated in this event while attending High School years ago. She recently did a story on this event for her class and The Omaha News.

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Journalism Student Cynthia Todd Interns in Nashville

It happened on spring break, on her 21st birthday, during a road trip to California.

University of Nebraska at Omaha journalism major Cynthia Todd was doing the Hollywood sign hike in April with her friends when she got a “super casual” email from Anne Oakley, vice president of radio at CMT in Nashville, Tennessee.

Oakley said, “How about tomorrow?” The next day Todd had a telephone interview for a paid internship.

“I did my interview from a Disneyland lollipop shop with Mickey Mouse ears everywhere and piano music playing in the background,” Todd says.

The interview lasted 15 minutes. She says it didn’t sink in that four representatives of CMT were actually interviewing her. “I was out of my element. Every aspect was random. I will always remember that interview,” Todd says.

The next day she got an offer to be the CMT Radio Network intern for on-air personality Cody Alan.

UNO Media Literacy Education Program presents “The Lit Lab.”

Students from Dr. Tyma’s Media Literacy Class

In November, students from Dr. Tyma’s Media Literacy course taught students from Lewis and Clark Middle School the basics of Media Literacy. The materials were developed throughout the semester as part of their course curriculum. L and C students not only learned from our undergraduate students, but they toured UNO TV with Dr. Chris Allen and even recorded a promotional spot for MavRadio. In addition, two of the UNO students used the event as an opportunity to write stories for their journalism courses and UNO TV produced a segment for The Omaha News.

(OMAHA, Neb.) Students of University of Nebraska at Omaha’s radio station MavRadio are holding a fundraiser Monday from noon to 12:45 p.m. for a fellow classmate who was diagnosed with cancer in October.

MavRadio students will be hosting a live remote at the steps of the Milo Bail Student Center to raise awareness for Adam LaRose, who began chemotherapy treatments the first week of November.

A GoFundMe account https://www.gofundme.com/gk9h7cxg called “Help Adam Beat Cancer” was set up eight days ago by LaRose’s classmates. Within the first 24 hours, over $2,000 was raised with donations pouring in from all over the country.

The message included by students on LaRose’s GoFundMe page is:

Adam is a very special person who means a lot to his classmates at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

He served in the United States Marine Corps for eight years and now we (his classmates) want to return the favor by serving him in his time of need.

Adam was diagnosed with cancer and just started chemotherapy treatments in the first week of November.

Adam is a fighter, but we want to help him in his fight against cancer.

Our thought … if every UNO student just gave one dollar to support Adam, he could focus his energy on getting healthy – not paying bills.

We hope to reach our goal before the end of the fall semester, so we can make his holiday break a little brighter.

Help us help Adam.

In case of inclement weather the live remote will be moved inside the Milo Bail Student Center.

MavRadio is a student-run radio station that broadcasts out of the campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. It is located in CPACS 106 B.

As the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s student run-radio station, MavRadio strives to enrich not only the campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha but also the community of Omaha by engaging, informing and entertaining through means beyond programming.

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Faculty Publish Article

The Baseball Research Journal published an article by Dr. Kevin Warneke, Iowa Western Community College Professor John Shorey and Dr. Dave Ogden. The article is titled, “Pick Wisely: A Look at Whom Select Baseball Players Choose as Their Heroes and Why” and is in the Fall 2015 issue (44) 2, pp. 57-62. The Baseball Research Journal is the official national publication of the Society for America Baseball Research (SABR).

Bruce Johansen publishes a book chapter:

“Native American Activism and Survival: Political, Legal, Cultural.” in Routledge Companion to Native American Literature, ed. Deborah Lea Madsen (Professor of American Studies, Director, Department of English, University of Geneva,Switzerland). New York: Routledge, 2016, pp. 273-283.

Dr. Johansen is also scheduled to deliver a plenary address at a world conference in India:

Plenary address: “What Has Been Will Be: Native American Contributions to Democracy, Feminism, Gender Fluidity, and Environmentalism.” This is a part of the Global Seminar on Celebrating the Ancient/Contemporary Wisdom of Fourth World (Natives/ Aboriginals/Dalits) being held on December 14, 2015 through the English Department at the Acharya Nagarjuna University in India.

UNO MavForensics on Fire!

The MavForensics team has once again hit the ground running with a strong showing at the “Debates on a Plain” tournament, held on September 26-27 in Hutchinson, Kansas. Led by seniorCatie Zaleski, who managed to win four individual events on Saturday alone (along with taking home the award for top overall speaker), the young team saw 13 of its 15 competitors make finals over the weekend. As the squad gears up for an exhausting but exciting marathon of competition, it’s safe to say things got off on the right foot!

The squad carried momentum from their opening weekend wins into a big showing at the “Buff Cat” tournament, hosted on the campus of Kansas State University on October 3-4, taking the total to a perfect 4 for 4 on the young season. Among the many highlights was freshman Abby Hoffman winning top overall speaker for the weekend in just her second college tournament ever. Hoffman won five events during the two days of competition. She was closely trailed by senior Catie Zaleski, who finished as the second overall speaker on Sunday’s half of competition and third on Saturday’s half. MavForensics took first place both days by winning 13 of the 22 possible championships across the weekend.

The hot start to the MavForensics season continued, with the team posting their 5th and 6th consecutive victories on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The team traveled to the Dragon/Loper Rodeo in Kearney, Nebraska on October 10-11. Notable results included Freshman Ameres Grovesplacing second in individual sweeps on Saturday and tying for first on Sunday. He was joined on Sunday by Freshman Whitney Hansen, who placed 3rd overall. That makes six different competitors who have placed in individual sweepstakes across the first three weekends of competition.

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AdClub

Will Riley is Director of Web at Grain & Mortar and a Web Developer at AIGA. He spoke at AdClub’ssecond monthly meeting. A lot of web design majors, graphic design and public relations/advertising students showed up.

Grain & Mortar combine strategy, branding and design to online and mobile platforms. Riley was very enthusiastic about his work, even about search engine optimization (SEO). He shared his passion of web design and says technology will not be able to take over by robots because design needs “human hands”.

Join our next advertising club meeting on November 4 in room 127 in the CEC.

The UNO School of Communication’s first Creative Media Capstone Class is taking place this fall, taught by Jodeane Brownlee and B.J. Huchtemann (UNO Television). The students’ second project was to create promotional audio and video spots for MavRadio’s Haunted Heartland live broadcast that takes place on Thursday, Oct. 29, 6-10 p.m.

Here are links to the student projects that show just how seriously our students are taking their role as creative professionals. With a bit of variance in skill levels in this pilot class, everyone set an ambitious goal for themselves and delivered some great work, along with companion audio promos. The videos will be running on TKN to promote the Haunted Heartland event, the audio promos are airing on MavRadio. To Listen to MavRadio: http://www.mavradio.fm/ OR http://tunein.com/radio/UNO-MavRadio-907-s162110/

Please check out this very creative, spooky and sometimes humorous work from our students.

The Omaha News

The Omaha News, a weekly news program featuring CFAM students both behind the camera AND on the air, airs live on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. on The Knowledge Network! Check it out on Cox Channel 18 or stream it at TKNomaha.org.

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MavPRSSA earns $4,500 from La Notte Italiana benefit dinner.

More than 75 guests enjoyed the best of Italian cuisine at the 12th annual “La Notte Italiana,” fundraiser.

The benefit dinner on Oct. 2 raised more than $4,500 in ticket sales, silent auction proceeds and donations. A portion of the proceeds will help pay for MavPRSSA’s “Say Yes to a Pack,” backpack drive for Youth Emergency Services, a nonprofit serving at-risk and homeless youth. The chapter plans to buy 100 backpacks filled with socks, warmers and hygiene products.

Proceeds help pay for PRSSA National Conference expenses. Nine officers and their faculty adviser will travel to Atlanta in early November. The money raised also supports other professional development opportunities, community service projects and national and state competitions.

Among the favorite entrees were mostaccioli and meatballs, sausage and peppers, penne alfredo and margherita pizza. Desserts featured Italian cream cake made by Gail Baker, dean of the College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media; Italian chocolate cream love cake made by Jessica Teaford, MavPRSSA assistant creative director; biscotti made by Phyllis Stessman, the mother of MavPRSSA’s faculty adviser Karen Weber; and tiramisu made by Carrabba’s.

The guests feasted on authentic Italian cuisine donated by some of Omaha’s finest family-owned Italian restaurants such as Bella Vita Ristorante, Mangia Italiana, Orsi’s and Pasta Amore. The dinner also featured Weber’s homemade meatballs from her Sicilian grandmother’s recipe.

Alumni Updates:

A recent graduate from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s School of Communication may have found the job of his life – at 27 years old.

Phil Manley (BS Broadcasting, 2013) is the live event video director at UNO’s new Baxter Arena.

“My specialty is live TV production,” the 2013 UNO graduate said, adding that live TV production aspects of instant replay and switching camera shots on the fly aren’t just for network television anymore.

Event venues, such as Baxter Arena, also have similar equipment to give people who attend events, like UNO hockey games, a much better experience than what was possible before, Manley said.

That love for live video production started at UNO, he said, but he didn’t start out as a broadcasting major. Beginning as a part-time computer science major in 2007 working his way through school, he didn’t change his major to broadcasting with a new media concentration until he started working at UNO-TV.

“I started working there and realized that I liked it,” he said. “That was my turning point.”

That change felt more like what he wanted as a career. “I think what I loved about computer science was all of those components,” he said. “That’s what drove me here.”

Alumna Andrea Guziec Iaccheri (MA, 2011) publishes her first piece from her MA Thesis, Unplugging the power cord: Uncovering hidden power structures via mobile communication technology use within the traditional marital dyad (co-authored with Adam Tyma). The chapter is in an edited Family Communication collection from Peter Lang publishing. The collection has such interpersonal/family comm authors as Sandy Petronio and Jeff Child. If you see Andrea, give her a hearty congratulations. She has earned it!

Alumnus Stephen Croucher, (BA Journalism, 2000), is a full professor of communication at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. He is currently the editor of the Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, a Taylor & Francis journal. This year, he had his fifth book come out: “Understanding communication theory: A beginner’s guide” … published by Taylor & Francis.

Dr. Sherice Gearhartand Dr. Teresa Trumbly Lamsam of the School of Communication are traveling to the Hart of the West powwow in Los Angeles to collect data for their project “Finding the impact zone: Testing health news for the Native American audience.”

The Waterhouse Family Institute, which had only a 24 percent acceptance rate for the 2015-2016 school year, unanimously funded Gearhart and Lamsam’s project the full requested amount of $8,594 because it met the institute’s mission of “communication as central to the creation of positive social change.” Waterhouse Family Institute of Villanova University in Pennsylvania funds communication research around the world. For the full article: http://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-communication-fine-arts-and-media/news/2015/09/gearhart-lamsam-powwow.php

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UNO Hosts Conference

Dr. Marshall Prisbell with UNO faculty and students.

Dr. Marshall Prisbell and other faculty from the School of Communication attended the annual Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) conference hosted by UNO on October 11-13.

The conference theme is Love of Place: The Metropolitan University Advantage, and celebrated university and community collaborations. Through reciprocal relationships, metropolitan universities provide students unique and enriching educational experiences while contributing to building and strengthening the community. Conference participants explored new strategies for sustaining partnerships and inspiring future successes by examining the symbiotic relationship between university and their love of place. The conference presentations fostered discussion, illustrated best practices, and advanced the scholarship of engagement.

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School of Communication celebrates National News Engagement Day

Media Writing classes participated in news engagement throughout the day, and faculty provided cookies to the students. Dr.Jeremy Lipschultz‘s Honors Program students met via Skype Tuesday with Chicago Tribune Investigative Reporter Ray Long. The paper wrote about tax breaks in the ConAgra decision to move corporate headquarters from Omaha to Chicago. Long also explained the importance of social media in journalism today.

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Faculty authors chapter.

Dr. Karen Kangas Dwyer is a chapter author, Helping Students Conquer Anxiety in the Sessions, in the Newly published book Communication Advise: Peer Tutoring and Communication Practices. Editors, Wendy Aitkins-Sayre and Eunkyong L. Yook (328 p.).

Although competent peer tutoring [at communication centers, writing centers, and math labs] depends heavily on knowledge within the particular discipline, there is certainly more to the process than subject knowledge alone. One of the most important components of tutoring in any academic area is effective communication. Research in the area of communication studies is relevant to all areas of tutoring, but is often only a minor component of peer tutoring training. This book brings together tutoring center experts and communication experts to provide research-based advice for training peer and near-peer tutors. With a broad audience in mind, these experts translate research from the fields of communication and pedagogy into advice that can be used for tutoring in any field. Peer tutoring centers or pedagogy courses in any discipline will find this book to be an effective discussion tool for encouraging tutors to consider the importance of how they communicate their advice to students.

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Faculty writes to NY Times

Dr. Bruce Johansenplaced a letter to the editor in the New York Times, October 3. It was less than 24 hours from when it web sent to print.

“Calls for Gun Control After Oregon College Shooting.” [Letter to the Editor]

Bruce E. Johansenalso presented “Global Warming Science: What the Mass Media Are Missing” on the Book Authors’ Panel at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Society of Environmental Journalists, October 11, 2015 at the University of Oklahoma/National Weather Center, Norman, OK.

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Speech Center Offers Fall Learn Over Lunch Series for Students

The UNO Speech Center will offer free workshops this semester on presentation skills. All students are invited to attend. Free pizza and pop will be provided. To register for one or more sessions or for more information contact the Speech Consulting Center at 554-3201 or unospeechcenter@unomaha.edu. Space is limited so you must register in advance.

Creating Visual Aids that Work: Designing Effective PowerPoint Slides

Date: Wednesday, October 28

Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Location: Speech Center, ASH 183

Let Your Body Speak: Delivering an Effective Presentation

Date: Wednesday, December 2

Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Location: Speech Center, ASH 183

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Spring 2016 Courses will be available online October 16, 2015.

UNO’s College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media (CFAM) was formed in July 2005 following the merging of the College of Fine Arts, the School of Communication, KVNO Classical 90.7 FM and UNO Television. Though diverse, CFAM is united by the creative forces of imagination and communication, which are inseparable aspects of the same intellectual process.

In celebration of the college’s 10 year anniversary, a private kick-off event will be held at the Thompson Alumni Center on the evening of Aug. 27. The program will showcase outstanding students from each of CFAM’s academic units.

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Students Win Broadcasting Awards

The reporters and producers of MavRadio.fm earned four of six Nebraska Broadcasters Association Awards in the college category during the 2015 Pinnacle Awards Banquet Thursday, August 13.

Marin Krause received first place in Best News Story for her in-depth report on the complex and often seedy history of Wilson and Washburn in Omaha’s Old Market.

Kenneth Vela’s report on UNO hockey fans and the Frozen Four earned first place for Best Sports Story.

Michael Lucas took home gold for Best News Story regarding the way UNO students celebrate Earth Day.

MavRadio award winners

Eleven School of Communication students joined broadcast professionals from across the region for this year’s convention. The group attended sessions featuring nationally renowned sales managers, radio consultants, legal experts and broadcast news veterans.

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Students Travel to Oman

Dr. Chris Allen returned to Oman with 14 students as a part of a summer International Communication course. Students learned the history of Oman and the relationship this country has had with our own. They met with staff members of the Oman offices of the World Health Organization, the UNFPA, the National Human Rights Commission, the Ministry of Higher Education and the National Business Center. The students toured the magnificent Royal Opera House and the Sultan Qaboos Mosque, as well as Sultan Quaboos University. They learned what Oman is doing for children with special needs, and they talked to members of the press. They also visited museums, tasted the local cuisine and experienced oppressive heat, with temperatures reaching over 106 F with a heat index over 120. On a weekend excursion outside of the capital Muscat, students were able to watch sea turtles lay eggs on the beach of the Arab Sea. They traveled to the ancient capital of Nizwa to shop in the souq and toured the restored 17th-century Jabreen Castle. Some of the students contributed significantly to Oman’s economy by shopping at the Muttrah Souq, where they also sharpened their bargaining skills. Dr. Allen maintained a blog while in Oman and it can be found at https://chrisalle200.wordpress.com/ if you wish to read about this and his other travels.

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Travels to London

Thirteen School of Communication students traveled to London in May as part of Dr. Chris Allen’s International Communication class, which became Global Media Communication starting with the Summer Session. Students visited a variety of media businesses and outlets, including Weber Shandwick Public Relations, the Islam Channel, the Telegraph, the U.S. Embassy to meet with the embassy’s cultural affairs officer, and the newly-formed Independent Press Standards Organization. They also took a historic tour of Fleet Street, the traditional home of the London press, although no newspapers are headquartered there any longer. The tour of Fleet Street included a stop at St. Bride’s Church, called the Journalist’s Church. Inside is a side alter that is a memorial to journalists from around the globe killed in the performance of their jobs. It was the 15th consecutive trip to London for the class, 14 of them led by Dr. Allen.

This Blog represents the Best of Omaha Metro picks by UNO Communication Studies 4550/8566 Students.

Each page shows a brief summary from student projects for Dr. Karen Dwyer’s Communication Teamwork, and Facilitation Class (CMST 4560/8566). The students formed their own consulting firms and learned, practiced, and relied on the Standard Agenda for problem solving in teamwork. In their team-firms, they practiced effective facilitation skills, strong trust-building techniques, adaptive leadership, effective meeting management, appropriate conflict resolution techniques, consensus building, and effective communication skills to complete the real-world project of creating a portfolio and writing a chapter for the Best of the Omaha-Metro Area Community Guidebook and Blog.

The UNO Course: The Communication, Teamwork, and Facilitation Course (CMST 4560/8566) examines the practices and theory associated with team problem solving, facilitation, group-decision making, and training in effective group interaction.

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Book Contributions

School of Communication faculty Hugh Reilly, Teresa Lamsam, and Bruce Johansen contributed entries and editing to a new two-volume set on Native American culture to be published September 30 by Greenwood Press. The 300,000-word (800 page) set contains an entry on Native American figures of speech that have become part of English by Reilly, and one on Osage economic culture by Lamsam. Several other UNO faculty also contributed. Johansen was general editor of the books, and wrote about 80 percent of their roughly 250 entries.

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Research Article Cited

Karen Dwyer and Marlina Davidson’s research article, Is Public Speaking Really More Feared than Death? on the prevalence of reported public speaking fear or anxiety was cited in the August 3rd edition of the New Yorker in the article Can’t Go On! What’s behind stage fright? By Joan Acocella that is about speech anxiety and stage fright. Visit here to read the full article: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/03/i-cant-go-on To read more on the research article Is Public Speaking Really more Feared than Death, see this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2012.667772

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Alum Returns

Sam Petto (BS 2011) has been named UNO’s Media Relations Coordinator, working in the Office of University Communications. Petto fills a role previously assumed by Charley Reed (BS, 2008; MA, 2010), who was promoted to Associate Director of Media Relations. In this position, Petto will work to bring awareness of university events and initiatives through new and traditional media by crafting targeted news releases, coordinating interviews, and contributing to social media.

MavForensics 5th in Nation.

UNO MavForensics placed in the elite 5 teams in the country, taking home the 5th place trophy for the 3rd time in school history. Senior Karlee Currin caps off an outstanding career by winning a national championship in Dramatic Interpretation. Junior Catie Zaleski placed 2nd in Poetry interpretation, freshman T’eyrr Bynum placed 2nd in Prose, and senior Dan Cutter placed 4th in Persuasive Speaking. Several other speaking events advanced to quarter and semi-finals, contributing to UNO’s impressive 272.5 points!

MavForensics also had two students named to the All-American team, the highest honor, which recognizes students who excel in academics, forensics, and service. Seniors Karlee Currin and Natalie Brooks were both honored with this award, which was bestowed upon them by the national committee. This makes three All-Americans in UNO history, and a first for having two in the same year (it is exceptionally rare).

MavForensics also had three students earn individual sweepstakes awards, meaning that their individual point totals placed them in the Top-20 speakers in the nation overall. Natalie Brooks earned 17th, Karlee Currin 15th, and Catie Zaleski 11th. These three awards are exceptional because they reflect the student’s cumulative performance for the weekend. With hundreds of students at the event, having three in the top-20 is exceptional.

Here are the other schools in the Top 10 (there were 86 schools total at the national tournament):

10. Doane College
9. University of Northern Iowa
8. University of Alabama
7. University of Nebraska Lincoln
6. Illinois State University
5. University of Nebraska Omaha
4. Bradley University
3. George Mason University
2. University of Texas-Austin
1. Western Kentucky University

Forensics Fiesta.

If you would like to support the team and help cover expenses for the national tournament, join us for the 3rd annual Forensics Fiesta dinner. There will be delicious all-you-can-eat Mexican cuisine and exciting items in silent auction packages. The evening will be held at Security National Bank at 101st and Pacific, Thursday, April 30 from 6:0-8:30 p.m.

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60th Annual Awards Luncheon!

If you are interested in joining us on May 1, 2015 at 11:30, please email Michelle Thies at mthies@unomaha.edu and she will send you the information.

MavRadio broadcasts from Boston.

UNO hockey traveled to Boston for the Final “Frozen” Four last week and MavRadio had four reporters reporting and broadcasting the game live from TD Garden. There were also four students broadcasting from the studios on UNO campus.

Ryan Matheny and Avery Wenck

Coverage began at 2:30 with host Matt Barros and reporters Adam Preister, Noah Sullinger and producer Jordan Stratman reporting from UNO campus. At 4 pm, MavRadio broadcasted from Boston, where Ryan Matheny and Avery Wenck called the game. Reporters JR Kantor and Eric Anderson gave live updates from the arena.

MavRadio had four sponsors for this event: UNO College of Business Administration, UNO School of Communication, Sears Homes and RDC-Remodeling Dreams Construction.

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Graduate student awarded grant.

MaryLee Moulton

Graduate student, MaryLee Moulton has been awarded the GRACA grant ($5000) for her proposal titled, “Twitter as Speech: An Analysis of the Tweets of Nebraska State Legislators” to assist her in her research. This is her first grant and is the School of Communication’s first GRACA grant awarded to one of our graduate students.

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Chao awarded grants.

Dr. Joy Chao

Dr. Joy Chao’s proposal titled “From Professionals to First Ladies: The Role of Liyuan Peng and Michelle Obama in the Media’s Portrayal” has been awarded for Faculty Research International (FRI) grant award in the amount of $5,000.

In Fall 2014, she was awarded a 2015 UCRCA grant for her proposal titled, “I Am in the Homeless Home or I Am always on the Way Home: Formatting Identity and Imagined Community through Ethnic Media Use.” Previously, she received a FRI grant award in 2013-2014 for $5,000, which led to the publication: Chao, C. C., & Tian, D. (2014). Disputes over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands: Communication tactics and grand strategies. Journal of International Relations and Foreign Policy, 2(2), 19-47.

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Faculty attend BEA convention.

Jodeane Brownlee, Sherice Gearhart, and Chris Allen

Sherice Gearhart, Chris Allen and Jodeane Brownleewere part of a panel, led by Dr. Gearhart, at the 60th annual Broadcast Education Association Convention. The panel was titled: The Package is No Longer Enough: Incorporating Social Media into Radio and Broadcast Television classes. They were joined by Dr. Kelly Kaufhold, Texas State University; Mary T. Rogus, Ohio University; Lakshmi Tirumala, University of Cincinnati. The discussion included real-life experiences incorporating Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms in an already tight curriculum. They also shared best practices and obstacles encountered while including digital technology in the classroom.

Sherice Gearhart

Dr. Gearhart also presented a paper she and Dr. Teresa Lamsam co-authored, “Why Health News Matters: Health Reporting in Native American Media Outlets.” This paper was awarded first place in the BEA Multicultural Division.